M A I N   N E W S

Minister’s house attacked

Srinagar, August 14
Militants attacked with grenades the house of Minister of State for Tourism Sakina Itoo at Kulgam while a soldier was killed and another injured in a powerful blast at Bhatono Galal Marmat in Doda district overnight.

Elsewhere in the state, a special police officer (SPO) was among two persons killed while forces averted a major tragedy during the past 24 hours.

Militants hurled a hand grenade on the house of Ms Itoo at Damhal Hanjipora, Kulgam, in south Kashmir late last night. However, the grenade did not explode and was later defused.

An official spokesman said a jawan lost his life and another was wounded when militants detonated a powerful improvised explosive device at Bhatono Galal Marmat in Doda district last evening.

Security forces averted a major tragedy when they detected and later defused a powerful IED planted at a urinal in Lal Chowk.

It was not, however, clear how the militants could plant the IED despite heavy security deployment for the past three days.

A blast followed firing at Warpora in Baramula district last night, damaging a nearby shopping complex which caught fire in the incident.

Militants shot dead SPO Ishfaq Ahmad near the general bus stand, Batmaloo last evening. A civilian, Ghulam Nabi Mir, was injured in the shootout.

In an encounter between militants and security forces at Samboora Pampore in Pulwama district this morning, one person identified as Mohammad Maqbool was killed and a woman injured.

However, residents of the area alleged that Maqbool was killed in retaliatory firing by forces.

The spokesman said two teachers and a peon, who were abducted by militants from a school at Aari Mandi in Poonch were let off unharmed last night.

Meanwhile, the police has arrested Ms Farida, Chairperson of the Kashmir Mass Movement for her anti-national activities.

The police and security forces removed Pakistani flags hoisted by militants at different places in the city and its outskirts this morning.

Two persons, including a Border Security Forces jawan, were injured as Pakistani troops opened fire at the Jabowal border outpost in Jammu region last night, official sources said today.

Pakistani troops resorted to unprovoked firing in several areas of the Jammu, Akhnoor and R.S. Pura sectors. UNI

Curfew in Rajouri

Jammu, August 14
The authorities have clamped night curfew for three days in Rajouri town and its surroundings and beefed up security in the city and other towns of the division to ensure a trouble-free Independence Day.

District Magistrate, Rajouri, Mr K.A. Khan, in an order issued last evening, said night curfew had been imposed on Rajouri town and its surroundings from today to August 16. PTI

Three more join Farooq ministry
Tribune News service

Srinagar August, 14
Three new Ministers of State were today inducted into the Jammu and Kashmir Council of Ministers. They are Mr Khalid Najib Suharwardhy, Syed Mushtaq Ahmed Shah Bukhari and Choudhry Mohammad Hussain.

The Governor, Mr. Girish Chandra Saxena, administered them the oath of office and secrecy at a simple but impressive function at Raj Bhavan. The new ministers took oath in Urdu.

With this the number of ministers in the Farooq Abdullah ministry has risen to 26 with 14 Cabinet Ministers, including the Chief Minister, and 12 Ministers of State. This is the fourth expansion in the Dr Abdullah ministry that came into power in October 1996.